| October 1, 1997 #014 | ||||||||
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A DrugSense publication
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Table of Contents
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FEATURE ARTICLE (Top) | ||||||||
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GET THE TROOPS OUT OF DRUG WAR POLITICS
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by Dave Fratello
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When was the last time a uniformed military officer told you how to vote in
an American election?
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Probably never. That doesn't happen here.
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Can you think of any campaign commercials in which a candidate for national
office claimed to have the support of the Army, or Navy -- any service --
while his opponent did not?
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Of course not. It is one of our time honored traditions that our troops
stay out of politics. | ||||||||
But that separation is beginning to erode. And much like the once clear separation between our nation's military and law enforcement missions, this erosion is taking place in the name of fighting illegal drugs. | ||||||||
National Guard troops were among the first enlisted in the drug fight,
serving a "support" role for local law enforcement. The Guard claims to
have begun such work in 1977, but the scope of such work only became
significant with the Reagan and Bush administrations' war on drugs. Today,
as evidenced by U.S. Marines' deadly shooting of an American citizen,
18-year-old Esequiel Hernandez, this past spring in Texas near the Mexican
border, "mission creep" has brought much more of our nation's military into
the war. | ||||||||
Now the National Guard is being enlisted in the political end of the fight.
As with the law enforcement end, bringing the Guard in is initially easier,
since many troops are considered civilians and the Guard's role has fewer
clear limitations. | ||||||||
The most recent evidence comes from the state of Washington, where the
Tacoma area headquarters of the National Guard this month hosted a
political strategy session for opponents of a ballot initiative, Initiative
685, that would overhaul the state's drug policy. Like a similar measure
passed in Arizona last November, I-685 would bar prison time for
non-violent drug offenders, offering most treatment instead, and would
permit doctors to authorize the use of otherwise illegal Schedule I drugs
-- including marijuana -- by their patients if scientific research supports
it. | ||||||||
The session at Guard headquarters was attended by at least one uniformed
National Guard officer, according to the Seattle Times, as well as police,
state officials, and a range of anti-drug groups. At the event, campaign
briefing books produced by the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America
(CADCA) were distributed, and government officials discussed how to balance
their anti-I-685 advocacy against their own official limitations as public
servants. | ||||||||
The irony of such discussions is in where they took place. Anti-drug crusaders, evidently made myopic by their anger toward the ballot measure, had already crossed the line by meeting at the National Guard base. | ||||||||
Yet for groups like CADCA, this was not in any way new. CADCA has utilized the satellite downlink capabilities of the Guard for its national teleconferences since a formal partnership between these public and private organizations began in September 1996. One such teleconference, a two hour propaganda marathon this past March, was devoted entirely to "educating" viewers on the dangers posed by ballot initiatives like those passed in California and Arizona last year which challenge drug war orthodoxy. | ||||||||
Some would argue these are small steps. But to see military resources used
in any way to support one side of a divisive political issue is chilling.
One need only imagine the outrage that would attend a similar event hosting
advocates of I-685, instead of opponents -- or even Democrats or
Republicans exclusively -- to see clearly how bizarre and unique such a
step really is. | ||||||||
Drug warriors felt shamed and "outgunned" last November when reformers helped pass the new laws in California and Arizona. In seeking to avoid a repeat of those defeats, they have now gone too far in politicizing elements of our nation's military. If prohibitionists, led now by a retired general, get away with this step, we must ask: What might be next? | ||||||||
Dave Fratello is communications director for Americans for Medical Rights, the Los Angeles based group that sponsored California's medical marijuana law in 1996. Dave can be reached via e-mail at | ||||||||
For further information on medical marijuana issues please see
http://www.drugsense.org/mmj.htm
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WEEKLY NEWS IN REVIEW (Top) | ||||||||
Drugs And Our Youth
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WASHINGTON (Reuter) - More and more American girls are turning to drugs and
alcohol, government researchers reported Monday. | ||||||||
Girls are trying out drugs and drink at earlier ages, too, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration reported. | ||||||||
"The study shows dramatic increases in initial use of alcohol and drugs by girls aged 10 to 14 over the last three decades," it said in a statement. | ||||||||
"This landmark study tells us conclusively that substance use is an
increasingly significant problem for women in this country, and it's a
problem that is starting earlier and earlier in girls' lives," said Nelba
Chavez, administrator of the organization. | ||||||||
In the early 1960s about seven percent of new drinkers were girls aged 10 to 14. But that rose to 31 percent by the early 1990s. | ||||||||
"Likewise, among girls reporting their first use of marijuana in the early
60s only five percent were 10 to 14 years olds; in the early 90s it has
risen to 24 percent," the agency said. | ||||||||
In the 12 to 17 age group, as many girls as boys abuse alcohol and drugs, although girls are more likely to abuse drugs such as tranquilizers. | ||||||||
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LONDON, Sept 19 (Reuter) - Almost a quarter of Britons aged between 16 and 29 admit to having taken illegal drugs in the past year, and one in seven did so within the past month, a government survey published on Friday said. | ||||||||
But the survey, part of a larger look into crime in Britain, suggested that
the level of drug taking had not risen significantly since a similar probe
in 1994. | ||||||||
Cannabis was the most popular drug, with 21 percent of young people having
used it during the last 12 months. | ||||||||
It was far ahead of amphetamines and ecstasy while only one percent of
those surveyed said they had ever tried heroin. | ||||||||
Junior interior minister George Howarth said he was to some extent reassured by the signs that drug taking is not on the increase. | ||||||||
But he added: "The figures are still worryingly high. Around one in two
young people has experimented with a drug at some point in their lives, and
one in four had taken a drug in the last year."
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International News
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BERN, Switzerland (AP) -- Swiss voters on Sunday overwhelmingly endorsed
their government's liberal drug policies, including the controversial --
but seemingly successful -- state distribution of heroin to hardened
addicts. | ||||||||
By a much bigger margin than predicted, nearly 71 percent of voters -- 1.3
million people -- threw out the proposal "Youth Without Drugs," which would
have curtailed government programs for drug users. | ||||||||
Only 29 percent, or 546,000 voters, were in favor. Turnout was just 40
percent. | ||||||||
The health ministry immediately announced that it would try to put state distribution of heroin to hardened addicts on a permanent legal footing. | ||||||||
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ZURICH (Reuter) - Switzerland voted by a clear majority Sunday to reject a
proposal to end a federal program allowing some addicts to receive hard
drugs. | ||||||||
In the referendum, 1.3 million Swiss, or 70.6 percent of voters, opposed a
"Youth without Drugs" initiative whose sponsors included the rightist Swiss
People's Party, the Liberal Democrats and several athletes and former
athletes. | ||||||||
The Swiss cabinet and most of parliament wanted to keep the current
program, arguing that it had helped to reduce crime while improving the
lives of addicts. | ||||||||
The program uses a varied approach, including abstinence for some drug
users. But some hard core addicts are able to get hard drugs, including
heroin, as well as methadone or other substances and hypodermic syringes,
on a controlled basis. | ||||||||
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The legalization of cannabis was put firmly back on the social agenda
yesterday when the Independent on Sunday launched a campaign to
decriminalize the drug. Support for the move from a prominent Labour MP
will cause embarrassment for the party leadership as they begin their
conference but will also ensure the debate will continue. Michael Streeter
finds the Home Secretary quick to respond. | ||||||||
The swift rejection by Jack Straw yesterday of any suggestion that cannabis
should be legalized was predictable. | ||||||||
New Labour does not want to scare off the Home Counties/ Daily Mail readers
it picked up at the election, and Mr Straw's language was unequivocal.
Interviewed on television he said: "What I regard as so irresponsible about
those who say we should decriminalize possession of small amounts of
cannabis is this: one thing which would follow, as night follows day, is
that consumption would shoot up." The drug could aggravate mental illness
and lead to high rates of absenteeism, he added. | ||||||||
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DUBAI, Sept 26 (Reuter) - Saudi Arabia on Friday beheaded three men, two Nigerians and an Afghan national, for smuggling heroin into the kingdom. | ||||||||
The beheadings raised to 110 the number of people executed so far this year in the conservative kingdom. A total of 68 people were beheaded in 1996. | ||||||||
An Interior Ministry statement, carried by the official Saudi Press Agency, said the two Nigerians were executed near the Islamic holy city of Mecca after being convicted of smuggling heroin in their stomachs. | ||||||||
The Afghan national was also beheaded near Mecca. | ||||||||
Saudi Arabia applies Islamic sharia law by publicly beheading by the sword convicted murderers, rapists, drug traffickers and other criminals. | ||||||||
The practice has come in for international criticism in light of a possible
death sentence against a British nurse charged with murdering an Australian
colleague in Saudi Arabia in December. | ||||||||
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The Independent on Sunday has become the first national newspaper to
campaign for the decriminalization of cannabis. | ||||||||
In today's edition, the newspaper vows to continue its campaign "until the
law is changed and possession of marijuana for personal use is no longer an
offense."
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An article headlined "The time is right to decriminalize cannabis" says
some 100 celebrities, politicians, business leaders and doctors, including
Sir Paul McCartney and Richard Branson, have signed a petition supporting
the move. | ||||||||
Yet the campaign, launched on the eve of the Labour Party conference, was
also condemned by anti-drugs campaigners, such as Paul Betts, father of
teenage Ecstasy victim Leah Betts. | ||||||||
Explaining the newspaper's reasons for the move, editor Rosie Boycott - who
admitted having started smoking "pot" in 1968 but said she did so "hardly
at all nowadays" - hit out at the "hypocrisy" of banning cannabis but
keeping alcohol legal. | ||||||||
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Medical Marijuana
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London, Ont. A woman who claims marijuana helps numb the pain brought on by multiple sclerosis was charged Mon. for possessing the drug. Lynn Harichy, 36, will appear in a London court Oct.14. The woman was arrested in front of the police station where she staged a protest before some 50 people. | ||||||||
Police took a joint from Harichy before she could light it and charged her
under the Criminal Code, launching another London- based challenge to
Canada's marijuana laws. | ||||||||
Harichy was first diagnosed with multiple sclerosis 18 years ago. She says
marijuana is more effective than prescription drugs. | ||||||||
While many pot supporters gathered outside the police station with
marijuana leaf symbols emblazoned on T-shirts and jewelry, some critics
also attended. | ||||||||
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Jacki Rickert suffers from Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and reflexive sympathetic dystrophy, a mouthful of medical conditions that cause the Mondovi, Wis. woman to experience muscle spasms, nausea and loose-jointedness. | ||||||||
The bone disease that has taken over her life requires Rickert to use a
wheelchair. And today she is rolling that chair onto the grounds of the
State Capitol, ending a 210-mile journey of protest against foolish and
inhumane policies that have denied her doctors permission to prescribe a
drug she needs to relieve her pain. | ||||||||
That drug is marijuana, and a growing body of research suggests that it can
help control nausea and vomiting for cancer patients, regulate some
neurological disorders such as epilepsy, abate pain, improve appetites and
treat glaucoma. | ||||||||
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Friends of a San Francisco AIDS patient arrested for allegedly cultivating
marijuana accused police yesterday of violating the spirit of Proposition
215 because the man grows pot for medical purposes. | ||||||||
Victor "Tom" Evans, 36, was taken into custody Monday night during a raid
of his home near Mount Davidson. San Francisco narcotics officers found
more than 50 marijuana plants, various scales and lamps and nearly $16,000
in cash, police said. | ||||||||
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Needle Exchange
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A proposal before Congress to permanently ban federal funding or
endorsement of clean needle programs as an AIDS prevention strategy puts
politics and rhetoric ahead of science and common sense. It should be
defeated. | ||||||||
Five years ago Congress imposed a provisional ban on clean needle programs,
pending certification and assurances by the Health and Human Services
secretary that first, such programs were helpful in reducing HIV infections
among intravenous drug users, and second, that they did not foster
addiction. | ||||||||
In February of this year, HHS Secretary Donna E. Shalala did just that: She
submitted to Congress a compendium of all major scientific evaluations of
needle exchanges - which unanimously indicated that they help reduce the
rate of HIV infections without promoting drug use. | ||||||||
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Sentencing
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DENVER-- Living among the hippies and ski bums who inhabit the tiny
mountain town of Nederland, Colo., is the young hemp activist who has the
nation's legal community in an uproar. | ||||||||
Her name is Laura Kriho, and she's a 33-year-old research assistant who was called two years ago for jury duty in a drug possession case in Gilpin County, Colo. During jury selection, she said nothing about her support for legalizing industrial hemp or her arrest at 21 for possession of LSD. | ||||||||
Once jury deliberations began, she refused to vote to convict the
defendant, instead trying to convert fellow jurors to her position by
discussing the criminal penalties involved and the rights of jurors to
nullify the law. | ||||||||
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The states's prisons are at 196 percent of capacity. The Department of
Corrections predicts that by the year 2000 we will no longer be able to
cram any more prisoners into these overcrowded cells. | ||||||||
Along with running out of space, prisons are turning into a budget buster. California spent nearly $4 billion in 1996 just operating existing facilities. According to the non-partisan Legislative Analyst, that cost is expected to double over the next 10 years, by which time the state will be spending twice as much on prisons as it does on higher education. And about $10 billion will be needed to build up to 10 new prisons. | ||||||||
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State Rep. Brent Steele said he would introduce legislation allowing the
death penalty for people who sell large quantities of illegal drugs,
including marijuana. | ||||||||
He said the approach may seem extreme, but it's needed to stem what he sees
as a growing drudges problem. | ||||||||
"It's a cancer to our society," Steele said. "These people, they don't care
who they addict or how old they are. | ||||||||
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The War on Drugs
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Boston's Sober Day yesterday turned out to be a somewhat somber day instead. | ||||||||
For the second year in a row, the antidrug and alcohol festival attracted fewer people than a nearby rally promoting marijuana legalization. | ||||||||
The Sober Day celebration at the Hatch Shell drew between 2,000 and 3,000
people who came and went yesterday afternoon, according to State Police,
and at times the crowd was sparse. The marijuana rally at the Boston Common
drew more than 40,000 visitors. | ||||||||
"It stinks," complained Richard Savickas, founder of the nonprofit
organization Sober Day: Say No To Drugs Inc. | ||||||||
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FORT WAYNE, Ind. (AP) - A panel of the nation's mayors called on the
federal government to give local authorities a bigger role in the war on
drugs. | ||||||||
The 42 mayors who attended a U.S. Conference of Mayors leadership meeting
over the weekend agreed to form a coalition with police chiefs,
prosecutors, governors and others to work with Congress on a plan to
control drugs. | ||||||||
Fort Wayne Mayor Paul Helmke, the conference's president, said the mayors also endorsed a plan to evaluate federal anti-drug spending and share information on the most effective local anti-drug measures. | ||||||||
"The federal government can learn a lot from the local level," Denver Mayor Wellington E. Webb said Saturday. "We're the practitioners." | ||||||||
The overall goal is to redirect federal dollars to municipalities, which handle most of the nation's drug prosecutions, Helmke said. | ||||||||
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A former CIA agent Wednesday told a federal jury of double crosses and
betrayal in Venezuela, as leaders of an elite unit set up by the
intelligence agency to fight smuggling instead protected huge drug
shipments to South Florida. | ||||||||
Ex-agent Mark McFarlin also described how he was caught in a turf war
between his CIA supervisor in Caracas and the Drug Enforcement Agency as he
began to realize the anti smuggling effort he helped develop "was starting
to fall apart."
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For U.S. agents, the Venezuelan venture proved to be an embarrassment.
Several large shipments were seized, but after the fact they learned that
hundreds of pounds got through. No major drug lords were captured, and a
large CIA-DEA rift was revealed. | ||||||||
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Harvey Thomas had visions of making General Motors Corp.'s car assembly
plant in Wilmington, Del., a model of cooperation between labor and
management. | ||||||||
But today, things at the plant, which makes the Chevrolet Malibu, are far
from harmonious. | ||||||||
While GM and Thomas were preaching the virtues of trust, the company was conducting an undercover investigation of the plant. The 16 month drug probe led to the arrest of 12 workers last month in a dramatic police raid. | ||||||||
Operatives hired by the company -- described by workers as attractive young women -- got to know employees, schmoozing with them during work hours and at local bars after work. The raid netted a quarter pound of marijuana, 6 grams of cocaine and small amounts of methamphetamine and PCP. | ||||||||
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HOT OFF THE 'NET (Top) | ||||||||
Forfeiture "Reform" Bill HR 1965
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In the next two weeks a forfeiture "reform" bill is supposed to come to the
floor of the House of Representatives. The bill started out as a real
reform bill (HR 1835) but then was taken over by the Department of Justice.
The new bill, HR 1965, makes it easier for prosecutors to seize assets in
abusive ways. | ||||||||
For information on the bill including a listing of organizations and
individuals against HR 1965 go to the web site of Forfeiture Endangers
American Rights at http://www.fear.org/hr1965idx.html
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CNEWS Legalization Poll - Cast Your Vote Today
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At CNEWS this week, the top story features legalization of marijuana. They are conducting a poll to see who supports reforming the laws... | ||||||||
To see the article and cast your vote, turn your browser to: | ||||||||
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Internet Slowed by PING - Service Disrupted for Many
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If you experienced network problems, lost email or had problems connecting
to some web sites, here's why:
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Someone on MCI's network has been ping flooding an iStar customer. This attack was large enough to saturate three T3's (A T3 is roughly equivalent to 30 T1 lines), and it affected all of iStar and a lot of other MCI connected sites as well. MCI is working on tracking down the bad guy, but iStar has now added filters to their routers to block the attack. | ||||||||
This will also explain some duplicate and lost posts to MAPNews/DND and
other mailing lists. | ||||||||
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DRUGSENSE TIP OF THE WEEK (Top) | ||||||||
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DrugSense/MAP Help Wanted - MAPNews Editor
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Our esteemed news editor Kiril Dubrovsky has asked that we find a
replacement to become the editor of MAPNews and DrugNews-Digest. A full
time job and a full time school schedule coupled with editing our news
articles has proven too much to handle. | ||||||||
We are looking for a part time person to edit and post news articles. This
requires a reliable and consistent person with an eye for detail and some
editing ability. The job requires about 2 hours per day 5 days a week and
pays $250 per month. You can pretty much select your own hours. Back up is
provided to allow days off, vacation, or time away. You must be willing to
work as an independent contractor, be a self starter and quite committed to
the reform movement. | ||||||||
Full training is provided and once learned the job is quite simple as our
software does much of the work. | ||||||||
Preference will be given to those who are or have been involved with DrugSense/MAP but any interested party is encouraged to apply. | ||||||||
A brief resume and/or details of your reform involvement would be
appreciated. | ||||||||
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DS Weekly is just another of the many free services DrugSense offers our
members. Watch this feature to learn more about what DrugSense can do for
you. | ||||||||
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We wish to thank each and every one of our contributors. | ||||||||
Mark Greer
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